About Me

My Experience - Controlled Environment Agriculture

At the University of Arizona I have worked on numerous projects. I grew tomatoes for 3 months in a greenhouse using a drip irrigation system with rockwool on coconut coir. We established the plants and then trained them in a traditional lean and lower technique. Fruit cluster size management, pruning, and harvest were performed.

I spent over a year growing seed corn in a greenhouse environment using ebb and flood techniques. Here I was able to get into setting up stock tanks using raw fertilizers/micro-nutrients from a supplied recipe. There was always something that needed to be troubleshooted and repaired. Controllers, pumps, hoses, solenoid valves, and more.

Projects

I was able to volunteer in the campus vertical farm. Here lettuce was grown by graduate students to study the different effects of lighting, temperature and CO2 concentrations.

I was also in directed research where I grew alfalfa. The goal was to determine which varieties grow best under salt stress.

My directed research project was also a tool to go through and understand the processes of experiment design and analysis. I worked one on one with a professor that let me run the experiment . We covered aspects of the design and analysis in R as it progressed.

Growing Plants

I've grown tomatoes, lettuce and even corn hydroponically. The University of Arizona has given me great opportunities to learn about various systems.

I've always had a passion for growing plants. It started in rural gardens when I was growing up. We always had a garden that produced more than we could eat. Breaking ground, sowing rows, tending and finding unique ways to irrigate during the hot dry days of summer. All good memories.

I always had plants in my house, my little "jungle." Exotics like orchids and tillandsia. Some thought it was odd that I had a banana plant in the living room, but I enjoyed it.